International disputes: all of the area west of the Essequibo River is claimed by Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitration under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially oil-rich waters.

Geography

Guyana is the size of Idaho and is situated on
the northern coast of South America, east of Venezuela, west of Suriname,
and north of Brazil. A tropical forest covers more than 80% of the
country.

Government

Republic.

History

The Warrou people were the indigenous
inhabitants of Guyana. The Dutch, English, and French established colonies
in what is now known as Guyana, but by the early 17th century the majority
of the settlements were Dutch. During the Napoleonic wars Britain took
over the Dutch colonies of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo, which became
British Guiana in 1831.

Slavery was outlawed in 1834, and the great need
for plantation workers led to a large wave of immigration, primarily of
East Indians. Today, about half of the population is of East Indian
descent and about 36% are of African descent.

In 1889, Venezuela voiced its claim to a large
swath of Guyanese territory, but ten years later an international tribunal
ruled the land belonged to British Guiana.

Guyana Gains Independence

British Guiana became a Crown colony in 1928,
and in 1953 it was granted home rule. In 1950, Cheddi Jagan, who was
Indian-Guyanese, and Forbes Burnham, who was Afro-Guyanese, created the
colony's first political party, the Progressive People's Party (PPP),
which was dedicated to gaining the colony's independence. In the 1953
elections, Cheddi Jagan was elected chief minister. The British, however,
alarmed by Jagan's Marxist views, suspended the constitution and
government within months and installed an interim government. In 1955, the
PPP split, with Burnham breaking off to create the People's National
Congress (PNC). The leftist Jagan of the PPP and the more moderate Burnham
of the PNC were to dominate Guyanan politics for decades to come. In 1961,
Britain granted the colony autonomy, and Jagan became prime minister
(1961–1964). Strikes and rioting weakened Jagan's rule, much of it
believed to be the result of covert CIA operations. In 1964, Burnham
succeeded Jagan as prime minister, a position he retained after the
country gained full independence on May 26, 1966. With independence, the
country returned to its traditional name, Guyana.

In 1978, the country gained worldwide attention
when American religious cult leader Jim Jones and 900 of his followers
committed mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.

Burnham ruled Guyana until his death in 1985
(from 1980 to 1985, after a change in the constitution, he served as
president). Guyana's first independent decades were marked by continued
racial unrest between Indian-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese as well as
economic malaise.

Desmond Hoyte of the PNC became president in
1985, but in 1992 the PPP reemerged, winning a majority in the general
election. Jagan became president, and the former Marxist succeeded in
reviving the economy. After his death in 1997, his wife, Janet Jagan, was
elected president. Former finance minister Bharrat Jagdeo assumed the
presidency in 1999.

Racial Disputes, Border Disputes Hinder Progress

Guyana's potential economic development was hurt
in 2000 as border disputes with both Venezuela to the west and Suriname to
the east heated up. Suriname and Guyana have been unable to resolve the
border dispute in an oil-rich coastal area. Venezuela's president Hugo
Chavez has revived the 19th-century claim to more than half of Guyana's
territory.

In March 2001, Bharrat Jagdeo won a second term
in elections that underscored Guyana's bitter racial tensions. The
reelection of Jagdeo, an ethnic East Indian, caused rioting among
Afro-Guyanese, who claimed widespread election fraud.

In Jan.–Feb. 2005, the country experienced
its worst natural disaster. More than a third of the country's population
was affected by devastating flooding.

Ramotar Elected President, but His Party Fails to Win Majority

In Nov. 2011, Donald Ramotar, the General Secretary of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), was elected president. Ramotar was the PPP's unanimous choice as the party's presidential candidate. Ramotar was elected by a slim margin while his party fell one seat short of a parliamentary majority, which means two opposition parties would now hold a majority of seats in the National Assembly. The opposition parties said that the presidential election had been tampered with. However, Guyana's electoral authority reported that the election was fair.